Dawn Redeemed

Torr forced a grin. "Nothing too major. Just one of the guys needing help with a brake job. I'd rather spend the day with you two lovely ladies, but I promised." Torr winked at Fallon playfully.

Erica blew out a relieved breath. At least the call hadn't been from a helpless female in distress. She so hated the damsel in distress routine that appealed to a male's instinct to rush over and save the day. "So, you're hanging out with the guys this afternoon?" Erica asked casually. Jealousy was unbecoming. Even if the caller had been a woman. It didn't mean a thing. Ashamed of her reaction, she blushed. Torr had a life, she reminded herself gently.

"Unfortunately, yeah." Torr grinned at the hint of jealousy in Erica's voice. She thought she might have competition. Good. "Just the guys. I'd better grab a shower and get over there before I have to fix more than what is already broken. Although I have to admit. I'm not all that good with my hands. If I fix something and it works. It's purely luck."

Erica bit back her knee jerk response to tell him that she thought he was plenty good with his hands and nodded. "Fallon and I will get out of your hair." Hurriedly, she gathered up her purse and herded her daughter toward the front door.

Torr grabbed Erica's free hand and pulled her to a stop. He wasn't letting her get away without a kiss, no matter what the crisis was. Erica wasn't comfortable with kissing in front of Fallon, so he settled for a light brush of his lips across hers. He ruffled Fallon's hair playfully. "See ya,"

"Bye Dad."

Torr held the front door open for Erica and stood to the side as she walked out. "Erica, do me a favor today."

The car keys jangled on the ring as Erica nervously fiddled with the strap of her purse. "Sure."

"Stay out of the woods today." God, he hated lying to her. What was he supposed to say? The woods were full of werewolves and vampires? Hell, he'd hardly believe that himself, if he didn't know better. Wolves were aggressive by nature. He didn't think anyone would harm her, but, they'd be on edge till they found who they were looking for and it wouldn't pay to take chances. If Erica saw one and she ran, the wolf's hunting instinct might win over. No matter how good control the human had of his wolf. And she'd get hurt, possibly killed. As for the vampires, who knew? To them, she might be a juice box with legs. They were dangerous predators and highly skilled hunters too. Just because they kept their human skin, didn't make them safe.

"Ah," Erica eyed him suspiciously. What was in the woods that he'd be concerned about? "Ok...I hadn't planned to do any hiking today, but...why?"

Great, now what? Torr had to think of a reason quick. "Tick season," he answered scratching his head. "I saw on the news that there was a case of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever a few counties over."

Erica shrugged and rolled her eyes. Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever? Whatever. "I promise. I'll sacrifice and stay out of the woods today." She almost laughed. "Do you think the front lawn is safe from dreaded bloodsucking ticks?"

"I think so," Torr answered. "Maybe you should wear some insect repellant just to be safe." He bent and stole another quick kiss from Erica. "Can I call you later? If I get done at a reasonable time?"

"You mean if the game doesn't go into overtime? Sure."

"Am I in trouble?" Torr asked sheepishly. Having her believe that he was blowing off spending an afternoon with her for the guys was better than having to confess the truth.

"Nah, I'll let it slide this time." Unconscious of what she was doing, Erica leaned in a little closer to Torr. Almost as if she were drawn to him by some kind of magical current that she couldn't begin to understand, let alone resist.

Torr grinned and snuck a peck on the cheek. "That goes for you too, Miss Fallon. Keep out of the woods."

Fallon wrinkled her nose at the thought of bugs falling out of trees and setting up camp in her hair. No problem. "Ok."

Torr smiled in relief. "Good girl."

Chapter 69

David ran his hands through his short sandy brown hair. In some ways it was a relief that he died right after he got a hair cut. One less thing to worry about. He had plenty of other things to take the place of the current fashion of men's hair cuts. Mainly, how he was going to get his sister away from that nut job before he made good on his word and used her for a midnight snack.

The highrise was quiet as a tomb this early on a Sunday morning. He glanced at his watch, supposing that if he were still human, noon wouldn't be considered all that late, but for vampires, it might as well be the crack of dawn. The office was empty, much as he suspected. Getting in was a snap. Vampires were a bit of an egotistical lot, and thought it beyond them to worry about something so trivial as locking a door. There had to be something, a clue of some sorts as to where their leader was hiding out.

The highly polished desk was neat and tidy. Nothing out of place. He took a minute to study the desktop. If anything was so much as a millimeter out of place, Bianca would know someone had been snooping around. And wouldn't that really get her panties in a bunch. Carefully, he flipped through the desk calendar and skimmed through the pages of neatly written notations. Of course, a clue wouldn't be that easy to find. Not an address, a phone number, a date for his return.

He crouched low and inched open a drawer, gently riffling through its contents. Nothing but pens, pencils, a box of paper clips and some loose change tossed into one corner. He couldn't risk just coming out and asking Bianca where Carter was. He couldn't tell her the danger his sister was in. Number one, why would she give a damn about one puny human? Number two, if he asked for help, Bianca would know that he'd been playing both sides of the fence. And that would not be a good thing.

Honestly, he didn't know why he'd even gotten involved with O'Sullivan in the first place. Maybe, it was just that O'Sullivan didn't seem to care about how much David drank and he always cleaned up the mess without so much as batting an eye. Now that his sister was on the menu. David had to rethink his position.

A pang of guilt stabbed him in the gut. How many had he drained as dry as a raisin? Weren't they brothers and sisters too? Even the ones that society had carelessly tossed aside, had mothers and fathers. Wasn't someone somewhere missing them too? Silently, he said a prayer in his mind. If he could get his sister out of this alive, not like him, but, really alive. He'd be content with snacking on alley cats and mangy stray mutts. He'd take only what he absolutely had to from humans and only from donors. He'd never ever take a human life again. Ever.

His agile fingers searched through the desk drawers and turned up nothing. Disheartened, David slouched against the wall. He was running out of time. A cell phone on the desk buzzed to life. David clenched his fist tightly, resisting the ingrained urge to answer it. When the phone stilled, he picked it up gently, as if it were a bomb that would detonate at any moment. He was a child of the computer generation. Manipulating the multiple screens on the phone was almost second nature.

This phone wasn't just anybody's phone, it was Bianca's and the text flicking across the screen was from Carter. David read the text with a frown. David put the phone down and stared at the blank screen. The sound of rushing footsteps echoing across the marble tiled floor caused his heart, if he had one, to pound in his throat. Quick as a flash, he slid out a side door and pulled it tightly closed behind him. To do what he was going to do, sacrifice the many to save the one, told him exactly how little of a heart he had left. He knew where Carter was.

Theresa lay in a crumpled heap on the floor. The wooden floor boards were cold against her sweat dampened fevered skin. When he was done with her, he hadn't bothered to tie her up again. She didn't have the strength to get away, so it really didn't matter. She could barely lift her head off the floor and focus her eyes. Her mind was strangely detached from her body and she didn't hurt anymore. She didn't know what death felt like, but she imagined that this was as close as a person could be without actually crossing over. It wasn't so bad, kind of peaceful, actually. Certainly a lot easier than the last twenty-four hours had been.

She could die happy now. She'd gotten the only thing she'd ever wanted, to see David one last time. The last time she'd seen him, she'd been asleep in her bed and he'd come in to wake her up and whisper a good bye. She was only twelve. That night, she not only lost her older brother, but her parents as well. The burden of having their only son disappear without a trace had been too much for them to take and they only mimicked the motions of living from that point on. They thought he was dead, and to a certain point, believing him dead was easier than knowing the truth of what he'd become. Too dehydrated to make tears, she let the blackness sweep her up and carry her away.





Chapter 70

Torr pulled over onto the loose gravel of the deserted country road, peeled off his clothes and his humanity. The wolf sat in the thick, scraggly weeds growing along the border where the road met the woods and shook out his lush brown coat. Joints popped into place as he planted his hind paws into the dirt and stretched languidly. The sun was warm on his shoulders, easing the ache left from the change. He lifted his nose and tested the air. The woods were thick with the musky scent of wolf. With purposeful intent, he marked his territory then trotted into dense shady cover of the trees.

Alexander sat a half eaten turkey sandwich down on his plate and looked up at Erica with something less than amusement. "Well... look who finally wandered home. I thought we were going to have to send out a search party," he said in that voice he used when he was trying to pass off a more serious thought as a joke. He flinched and reached under the table to rub his sore shin. Alex's pointy tipped boot toe was going to leave one hell of a bruise.

Alex gave her dad a look that she hoped clued him in to shutting up. Erica's cheeks were already a shade somewhere between tomato and carmine red. Erica didn't need her well intended, but overly intrusive uncle sticking his nose in where it wasn't welcome.

Fallon plopped down in a kitchen chair and snatched the uneaten half of her uncle's sandwich off his plate. "We spent the night with Dad," Fallon announced through a mouthful of sliced turkey, cheese, and mayo. She smiled proudly as she continued, "I got to sleep in the same bed with mom and dad."

Alexander sputtered, coughing up a chunk of ice that had tried to go down the wrong way. " You did." He grabbed a paper napkin out of the holder on the center of the table and wiped at the tears in the corners of his eyes. Almost choking to death on a thimbleful of iced tea will do that to a man.

Fallon swallowed her bite and gulped down the last few swallows of her uncle's tea. "Yeah, I got to sleep right in between them. Did you know that my dad has a picture of a wolf on his back?" Fallon stretched out her hands, displaying the size of the tattoo, "Yeah, from here to here."

Erica rested her elbow on the table and buried her face in her hand. Her uncle was staring at her with a mortified expression on his face. Alex's expression was amused as she tried to stifle a string of laughter. "Fallon, hurry up and finish your sandwich," she said in a muttered breath. Maybe if her daughter kept her mouth full, she wouldn't blab anything else. She heard Fallon take a deep breath to speak. Then again, of course Fallon wouldn't keep quiet in preference for good table manners.

"Yeah, it was so cool. I played video games and Dad's got this really big bed," Fallon said as she swallowed down the last crumbs of the sandwich. "But, he snores." She positively beamed. "I saw him kiss mom." Her nose wrinkled in disdain. "Tongue and all. I thought he was going to eat her face. Ick."

Alex couldn't help it, she laughed so hard, her stomach hurt. She knew where Fallon and Erica were last night. The patrols found them easily enough. She'd meant to keep it a secret from her dad, but Fallon, in a child's innocence, didn't mind sharing the information. Her dad's cheeks were almost as red as Erica's. He obviously didn't find Fallon's reaction to the kiss quite as funny.

Erica slouched in her seat. The mortified expression on her uncle's face dissolved into a look of pure horror and indignation. Naturally, Alex was laughing her ass off at Erica's expense. "Fallon, if you're done, why don't you go hop into the shower and change your clothes."

"Ok." Fallon scooted her chair away from the table. "Uncle Alexander, when I get to be old like my mom will I have to kiss the boys like that?" She couldn't imagine having a boy's slimy tongue in her mouth.

"You'd better never," Alexander huffed. Erica was getting too involved in the supernatural world he'd sworn to keep her safe from. She was falling in love. Alexander knew the signs. He'd seen them before on Alex's face. Erica was already in too deep and there wasn't anything he could do about it, but help her be ready when the world she thought she knew disappeared from beneath her feet.

Alex rapped her knuckles on the table to get her dad's attention. "Dad, stop it." She sat sideways in her chair to face Fallon. "You don't ever have to kiss anybody you don't want to. But, when you get older, it'll make more sense."

Fallon rolled her eyes. "Everyone always says that," she said exasperatedly. "I can't imagine EVER wanting to kiss a boy." She shuffled out of the kitchen and headed to the bath. Somehow, she'd managed to say something she shouldn't have. Something she'd said had gotten her mom in trouble with Uncle Alexander. Fallon snickered, maybe he'd send her mom to bed without any supper or ground her from TV for the night.

"I'll be there to help you in a minute." Erica peeked at her uncle through her fingers. He was still staring at her like she'd gotten caught by the cops making out in a backseat and arrested for public indecency. She was a mother of a overly talkative ten year-old girl. How did her uncle think Fallon came into the world? Immaculate conception?

Leigh leaned on the doorjamb, chuckling lightly under her breath. She tugged lightly on the hem of Fallon's t-shirt as she passed by. "Anyone ever tell you that you talk too much?" Grinning, Fallon looked up and nodded yes in reply. "Go get your clean clothes and I'll help you with the tub." Leigh shot her husband a look. He was too overly protective of Erica. Maybe more so than he was of Alex. Losing his sister hadn't been an easy thing for him to deal with and Erica was so much like her mother.

Alexander huffed at the look his wife shot over Erica's head. She was giving him that look that she gave him when it was time for him to back off. He didn't want to back off. He wanted to go out and pump Torr's backside full of buckshot. He was supposed to be keeping Erica from all the fiends and creepy crawlies out there. Deep down, he knew that Torr was a good guy. But, letting Erica go down the path that destiny carved for her wasn't easy.

Alex smiled and patted Erica gently on the shoulder. "Coffee anyone?" All right, so the offering for coffee was lame. But, it was all she had. The tension between Erica and her uncle was thick enough to be cut with a knife and served on fancy plates for Sunday dinner. Erica was a grown woman, but when it came to her uncle. Alex knew all too well, that he still saw Erica as a little girl. Alex had been battling the same issue with her father for years. Sometimes, it was better to surrender than to fight. Some things were just simply never going to change.

Chapter 71

The gray wolf crouched low on her belly and inched forward. The smell of plastic, carpet, sawed wood, and humanity at large tickled her nose. The flowers from the ornate and carefully tended beds that surrounded the house emitted a sickeningly sweet, almost repulsively pungent fragrance. The mulch rotting in the beds reeked of decay and dead things. Beneath all of that, the wolf smelled the comforting scents of home. Hand stitched quilts, baking bread, and her son. Slowly, she came out of hiding. Wary of being exposed in the full of daylight and trotted across the neatly shorn grass.

A low rumbling growl rolled from thick, black lips, curled in a threatening snarl. The wolf's fur stood up on end and his muscles coiled for attack. Eyes that ordinarily would have been a beautiful contrasting rich, golden honey brown, narrowed in deadly concentration. Nails, sharp as daggers dug into the soil, making a better foothold for launching his attack. The wolf was past the point of no return. The wolf lunged on powerful hind legs and opened his jaws in attack.

The she wolf bolted across the grass, narrowly escaping her attacker's powerful jaws. She was smaller and faster than the other wolf, but not as strong. In an out and out onslaught, she might tear some fur from his flesh and leave a few wounds, but she wouldn't live through the first five minutes. Her mate was now her enemy. She dropped to her belly and rolled on her back, exposing her most vulnerable part and waited. Whimpers of terror escaped her throat as his snarls of rage filled the air and a huge muzzle filled with long, sharp snapping teeth, lunged dangerously close to her throat.

Evan sprung off the porch and bolted across the lawn as fast as his short legs would carry him. "Mommy!" he cried at the top of his lungs, panting from the effort of saving his mommy's life. He threw himself in the path of the attacking wolf, stretching out across his mom's belly to protect her. His tiny fingers dug deep into her fur as he latched on to her neck. "Daddy don't kill my mommy!" he wailed. Tears streamed beneath his closed eyes as he buried his face in her soft ruff.

Carter tore the curtains from the window and dove through the thick panes of glass. He didn't give a damn about the deep cuts that tore deep gauges into his back. He didn't care about the blood flowing from the wounds in a river, spilling down the cheery yellow siding and neat rows of brown shingles on the porch roof beneath his feet. He only cared about saving the boy from the savage jaws of the wolves below. His hands found Evan and tore him free from the gray wolf seconds before the attacking wolf's powerful jaws and dagger like claws found purchase in its victim's fur.

"NO!" Shayla clutched R.J. in her arms and darted down the stairs. She still clutched a torn piece of Carter's shredded t-shirt in her fist. He'd been too fast to stop him from jumping from the third story window in an attempt to save Evan. Her hands trembled with fear. Fear for Evan. Fear for Carter. Fear for Ruby. And fear for Hanning. This had to stop or someone was going to die.

The male wolf growled in fury. His attention drawn from the submissive female wolf to the newest threat. There was no logic in the wolf's mind. No understanding of right and wrong, no reasoning, only the instinctive drive to protect his young.

Carter managed to protect Evan from the worst of their tumble. Evan lay cradled protectively in a cocoon of arms against Carter's chest, dazed but in one piece and alive. Carter's skin prickled with the threat of attack. Until he got Evan to safety, he couldn't take measures to defend himself from the wolf's steel jaws or razor sharp teeth. He tensed and prepared himself for attack, guarding Evan as best he could. If he managed to do just that, any injury or wound, even his death would be worth something.

The wolf launched his body forward, muscle and tendon, working in perfect harmony with raw strength and force of will. He yapped in agony as a set of sharp teeth buried themselves in his hindquarters dropping him to the ground with a bone rattling thud. Outraged, he quickly sprang to his paws and spun to face the smaller wolf snarling and snapping in fury.